1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector housing supplying device and, more particularly to a connector housing supplying device optimal for automatically supplying connector housings to a device for connecting electric wires with the connector housings.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A wiring harness mounted in an automotive vehicle or the like is, in general, an electric wiring system formed by bundling a plurality of electric wires cut into specified sizes. There is known a wire connecting device for connecting a multitude of electric wires with a plurality of kinds of connector housings as a device used to fabricate such a wiring harness (see, e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 63, -174224).
Quite a few connector housing supplying devices have been proposed which automatically supply the connector housings to the wire connecting device (e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications Nos. 61-294715 , 63-195984 and 63-314716).
As disclosed in the Publication No. 61-294715, the connector housing supplying device is provided with an aligning unit (positioning means at the wire connecting side) for aligning connector housings in side-by-side relationship so that they can be easily connected with wires, a conveying unit for conveying the connector housings to the aligning unit, and a positioning unit (positioning means at the supplying side) for positioning and supplying the connector housings in correspondence with the alignment at the aligning unit. The connector housings are conveyed from the positioning unit to the aligning unit through a guide member.
If the connector housings are conveyed from the aligning unit to the positioning unit by the conveying unit as in the prior art, the next connector housings are positioned by the positioning unit during the wire connecting operation. Thus, a waiting period can be shortened compared to the case where the connector housings are directly supplied from a supply source to the aligning unit, thereby improving the working efficiency.
In recent years, the above-mentioned connector housing supplying devices have been required to have high working efficiency and wide use to handle a plurality of kinds of wiring harnesses. More specifically, wiring harnesses have different numbers of connectors and circuits depending upon the product incorporating them. The more complicated the wiring of the product incorporating the wiring system, the more kinds of connector housings are used. Thus, there is a demand for a connector housing supplying device which can be widely used to efficiently fabricate a variety of wiring harnesses.
In the prior art supplying device, the conveying unit conveys the connector housing by means of the guide member guiding the connector housings in sliding contact therewith. Accordingly, the design of the guide member needs to be changed each time the kind of the connector housings is changed. Thus, the supplying device cannot be widely used.
More specifically, it is necessary to accurately maintain the positions of the connector housings determined by the positioning unit when the connector housings are conveyed from the positioning unit to the aligning unit. The guide members need to be designed individually and specifically in conformity with the shape of the connector housings so that the posture of the connector housings does not change. Thus, in fabricating a variety of products each in small quantity, the conveying unit, particularly, the guide member needs to be changed each time the product is changed. This leads to a considerable amount of labour for replacement and consequently increases the production costs.
When the guide members are employed, more connector housings must be positioned side by side by the positioning unit, and a larger installation for arranging the guide members is required. This leads not only to a considerable increase in installation cost, but also to difficulty to provide a sufficient space.
In view of the problems residing in the prior art, it is an object of the invention to provide an inexpensive connector housing supplying device which can be widely used and replaced with reduced labor.